A principal driving force behind the Heartlands development is the creation of the business park. Built on old farm land at Cowhill between the M8 and the B7066 the state of the art multi-occupancy area will create employment for around 4000 people helping to push Scotland to the fore-front of not only being a hi-tech titan but providing sustainable employment for a multitude of businesses. Scotland has always had a strong and innovative approach to business and the Scottish economy and financial markets are healthy. For such a small country we continue to have a thriving community of innovators; just look at what we have invented, discovered and developed.

Perfectly situated beside the M8 motorway, between Edinburgh and Glasgow the business park will be serviced by a new roundabout linking with Whitburn, the B7066 and the rest of the Heartlands development with a tree lined dual carriageway leading to the new motorway junction which was given the go ahead this summer by the Scottish Executive. This will be the first junction built on the M8 for a number of years and in a strange twist of fate will not be too far away from J5, west of Harthill, the very first junction. To compliment the junction, a transport interchange with park & ride facility with parking for over 350 vehicles is also being built. Direct journeys to Glasgow & Edinburgh by coach will be easier than ever and it is planned that local bus services will link to the interchange. Add to this a new motel and Junction 4A will naturally become a central focal point for business, transport and leisure in central Scotland. Serviced by a new motorway junction the business park will create a strategic supply of serviced plots covering a wide range of business uses. Such is the potential of the location and amenities a number of blue chip firms have already expressed an interest in office space.
As a showpiece for the kind of designs planned for the business park the first building will be the Heartlands Business Centre which, along with the Business Park road layout, received planning permission at the end of 2006. The centre may house West Lothian Councils WEEE* (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment} facility in part of the building. The striking design will be built using natural materials incorporating the latest thinking in environmental design and construction and will not only save on energy costs during construction but will be one of the most energy efficient buildings in Scotland with further savings on energy and maintenance year after year. Ventilated naturally, comfort will be maintained with no need for artificial air conditioning. Combine this with maximum use of natural daylight and materials, you help eliminate “sick building syndrome” Studies have shown that naturally ventilated and lit buildings can reduce dramatically staff absence through sickness and can actually increase productivity.

The Business Centre design has a south facing curved roof shell. Carefully placed windows and roof lights will help promote natural ventilation throughout the building while the northern facade is predominately glazed, divided by a number of structural ventilation stacks with automated openings and screened external shutters. By using ground to ceiling glazing, maximum use of daylight is ensured and a light and airy working environment is provided by controlling heat gains and losses. Like the rest of the Heartlands development, Ecosse Regeneration Ltd is making a bold statement in making the first building within the Heartland Business Park environmentally friendly, economically and technologically advanced. It will act as a showpiece for what can be built to create a sound environmental basis for the future.

The Business Centre will be BREEAM** compliant and should set the trend for the rest of the buildings in the Heartlands Business Park and quite possibly will set a new benchmark regarding environmental and sustainability issues to be copied by future developments around Scotland, the UK and beyond.
Acknowledged as the most successfully executed programme for promoting sustainable practices globally, BREEAM sets the standards for best practice and demonstrates a level of achievement in environmental performance.

A BREEAM buildings performance is assessed in the following ways:
• Overall management of the site using best practise.
• Energy use - Carbon footprints etc
• Health & well being - Indoor and outdoor issues.
• Pollution - Air & water pollution.
• Transport - CO2 and location related factors
• Land Use - Using Greenfield or Brownfield sites
• Ecology - Conservation and enhancement of the site
• Construction materials - Environmental implication of building materials including life cycle impacts
• Water - Consumption & water efficiency.

Credits are awarded in each area according to performance; a building may score very high in some areas but lower in others but after a set of environmental weightings have been applied a single overall score is produced. The building is then rated on a scale of; PASS, GOOD, VERY GOOD or EXCELLENT with a certificate awarded which can be used for promotional purposes. Ecosse Regeneration Ltd are aiming for an Excellent rating with the Business Centre

As can be seen elsewhere in this site Ecosse Regeneration is working very hard to ensure the developments not just the business park but the housing and the golf courses etc, where possible, will perform to the highest standards as set out by BREEAM. Ecosse are also looking at the possibility of using biomass / wood pellet boilers within the business park although it should be pointed out that this is at a very early stage. Biomass boilers are carbon neutral in that the CO2 generated is balanced by that absorbed during the fuel’s production. Biomass means basically all non-fossil organic materials that have by their very nature chemical energy content. This includes cuttings from trees, prunings from roadsides and parks, recycled untreated wood, sewage, manures, forestry and agricultural residues. Where previously there may have been a problem disposing of such waste there is now a possible source of high quality, sustainable, economic and environmentally friendly fuel.

Heartlands Business Park will not be a flat area of tarmac with grey block buildings. It will be designed to look good from day one with avenues of trees, retained from the original landscape bordering and traversing the park. Overhead pylons will be re-routed underground and new water features will be created to build a working atmosphere second to none.
Whitburn will be a magnet to the thousands of golfers wishing the play the Donald Ross Memorial Courses. Whitburn will be a haven for families wishing to locate to a scenic and rejuvenated town within easy travelling distance of....well...everywhere and Whitburn will be a mecca to those organisations who want to have a central base within easy reach of all the important and strategic elements of business. Whitburn, in the centre, bullseye...you can't miss. It's in the heart of the land.

* In 2003 the European Parliament issued the WEEE Directive which said that 65% of IT and electrical equipment must be recycled or pre-treated before disposal.
** Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method